Wall Street, however, was a little nervous. It didn't want any man
elected President who would drive the South into secession. No use to
let iron drive out cotton. Let us have both cotton and iron.
We went out to walk through the city. Yarnell was amazed at the growth
of Chicago. We wandered over to the Wigwam where the convention was to
be held. It was a huge frame structure, seating ten thousand people. The
city was swarming with delegates and visitors. All the hotels were
filled; the saloons roared with drinking crowds. How many thousand
cigars were lighted every minute! Stubs decorated the floors, the
spittoons, the sidewalks. The houses of ill fame were riotous with men
let loose upon a holiday.
At the Richmond House there was much champagne, for that was the
headquarters of the New York crowd. Yarnell took me here and introduced
me about to his friends. He was well known. He had money for the
occasion, and was esteemed in that light. It was a different crowd here
from that I had seen in St. Louis years before, but its spirit was the
same. "If you don't nominate Seward, where will you get your money?"
Yarnell was saying this here and there. Some one at our side says: "This
railsplitter Lincoln, who carries the purse for him?" "The tariff
carries it," is the answer. "There's more money in the tariff than all
that Seward can rake together.
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